# Business magnate > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Business_magnate > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Business_magnate.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_magnate > Source revision: 1335315855 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Entrepreneur who has achieved wealth and prominence from a particular industry "Tycoon" and "Industrialist" redirect here. For other uses, see [Tycoon (disambiguation)](/source/Tycoon_(disambiguation)) and [Industrialist (disambiguation)](/source/Industrialist_(disambiguation)). For magnates in the mass media industry, see [Media proprietor](/source/Media_proprietor). This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Business magnate" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A **business magnate**, also known as an **industrialist** or **tycoon**, is a person who is a powerful [entrepreneur](/source/Entrepreneur) and [investor](/source/Investor) who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or services are widely consumed. ## Etymology and history The term *[magnate](/source/Magnate)* derives from the [Latin](/source/Latin) word *magnates* (plural of *magnas*), meaning 'great man' or 'great nobleman'. The term *mogul* is an English corruption of *mughal*, [Persian](/source/Farsi) or [Arabic](/source/Arabic) for 'Mongol'. It alludes to emperors of the [Mughal Empire](/source/Mughal_Empire) in [Early Modern India](/source/Early_modern_India), who possessed great power and storied riches capable of producing wonders of opulence, such as the [Taj Mahal](/source/Taj_Mahal). The term *tycoon* derives from the [Japanese](/source/Japanese_language) word *[taikun](/source/Taikun)* (大君), which means 'great lord', used as a title for the *[shōgun](/source/Sh%C5%8Dgun)*.[1][2] The word entered the English language in 1857[3] with the return of [Commodore Perry](/source/Matthew_C._Perry) to the United States. US President [Abraham Lincoln](/source/Abraham_Lincoln) was humorously referred to as *the Tycoon* by his aides [John Nicolay](/source/John_Nicolay) and [John Hay](/source/John_Hay).[4] The term spread to the business community, where it has been used ever since. ## Usage The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Modern business magnates are entrepreneurs that amass on their own or wield substantial family fortunes in the process of building or running their own businesses. Some are widely known in connection with these entrepreneurial activities, others through highly visible secondary pursuits such as [philanthropy](/source/Philanthropy), political fundraising and campaign financing, and sports team ownership or sponsorship. The terms *mogul*, *tycoon*, and *baron* were often applied to late-19th- and early-20th-century North American business magnates in [extractive industries](/source/Natural_resource) such as [mining](/source/Mining), [logging](/source/Logging) and [petroleum](/source/Petroleum), transportation fields such as [shipping](/source/Shipping) and [railroads](/source/Rail_transport), manufacturing such as [automaking](/source/Automobile_manufacturing) and [steelmaking](/source/Steel), in [banking](/source/Banking), as well as newspaper publishing. Their dominance was known as the [Second Industrial Revolution](/source/Second_Industrial_Revolution), the [Gilded Age](/source/Gilded_Age), or the [Robber Baron Era](/source/Robber_baron_(industrialist)). Examples of business magnates in the western world include historical figures such as pottery entrepreneur [Josiah Wedgwood](/source/Josiah_Wedgwood), oilmen [John D. Rockefeller](/source/John_D._Rockefeller) and [Fred C. Koch](/source/Fred_C._Koch), automobile pioneer [Henry Ford](/source/Henry_Ford), aviation pioneer [Howard Hughes](/source/Howard_Hughes), shipping and railroad veterans [Aristotle Onassis](/source/Aristotle_Onassis), [Cornelius Vanderbilt](/source/Cornelius_Vanderbilt), [Leland Stanford](/source/Leland_Stanford), [Jay Gould](/source/Jay_Gould) and [James J. Hill](/source/James_J._Hill), steel innovator [Andrew Carnegie](/source/Andrew_Carnegie), newspaper publisher [William Randolph Hearst](/source/William_Randolph_Hearst), poultry entrepreneur [Arthur Perdue](/source/Arthur_Perdue), retail merchant [Sam Walton](/source/Sam_Walton), and bankers [J. P. Morgan](/source/J._P._Morgan) and [Mayer Amschel Rothschild](/source/Mayer_Amschel_Rothschild). Contemporary industrial tycoons include e-commerce entrepreneur [Jeff Bezos](/source/Jeff_Bezos), investor [Warren Buffett](/source/Warren_Buffett), computer programmers [Bill Gates](/source/Bill_Gates) and [Paul Allen](/source/Paul_Allen), technology innovator [Steve Jobs](/source/Steve_Jobs), vacuum cleaner retailer Sir [James Dyson](/source/James_Dyson), media proprietors [Sumner Redstone](/source/Sumner_Redstone), [Ted Turner](/source/Ted_Turner) and [Rupert Murdoch](/source/Rupert_Murdoch), industrial entrepreneur [Elon Musk](/source/Elon_Musk), steel investor [Lakshmi Mittal](/source/Lakshmi_Mittal), telecommunications investor [Carlos Slim](/source/Carlos_Slim), Virgin Group founder Sir [Richard Branson](/source/Richard_Branson), Formula 1 executive [Bernie Ecclestone](/source/Bernie_Ecclestone), and internet entrepreneurs [Larry Page](/source/Larry_Page) and [Sergey Brin](/source/Sergey_Brin). ## Business magnates This section contains an excessive or unencyclopedic gallery of images. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary or indiscriminate images, and by moving relevant images beside adjacent text in accordance with Wikipedia's Manual of Style. (April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) - [Josiah Wedgwood](/source/Josiah_Wedgwood) - [Samuel Slater](/source/Samuel_Slater) - [James Finlayson](/source/James_Finlayson_(industrialist)) - [Cornelius Vanderbilt](/source/Cornelius_Vanderbilt) - [Jamsetji Tata](/source/Jamsetji_Tata) - [Henry J. Heinz](/source/Henry_J._Heinz) - [John D. Rockefeller](/source/John_D._Rockefeller) - [J. P. Morgan](/source/J._P._Morgan) - [William Randolph Hearst](/source/William_Randolph_Hearst) - [Asa Griggs Candler](/source/Asa_Griggs_Candler) - [Andrew Carnegie](/source/Andrew_Carnegie) - [Henry Ford](/source/Henry_Ford) - [Ivar Kreuger](/source/Ivar_Kreuger) - [Howard Hughes](/source/Howard_Hughes) - [Dhirubhai Ambani](/source/Dhirubhai_Ambani) - [Sam Walton](/source/Sam_Walton) - [Warren Buffett](/source/Warren_Buffett) - [Ted Turner](/source/Ted_Turner) - [Rupert Murdoch](/source/Rupert_Murdoch) - [Richard Branson](/source/Richard_Branson) - [Li Ka-shing](/source/Li_Ka-shing) - [Bill Gates](/source/Bill_Gates) - [Paul Allen](/source/Paul_Allen) - [Steve Jobs](/source/Steve_Jobs) - [Lakshmi Mittal](/source/Lakshmi_Mittal) - [Larry Ellison](/source/Larry_Ellison) - [Carlos Slim](/source/Carlos_Slim) - [Michael Bloomberg](/source/Michael_Bloomberg) - [Bernard Arnault](/source/Bernard_Arnault) - [Jeff Bezos](/source/Jeff_Bezos) - [Elon Musk](/source/Elon_Musk) - [Larry Page](/source/Larry_Page) - [Sergey Brin](/source/Sergey_Brin) - [Mark Zuckerberg](/source/Mark_Zuckerberg) ## See also - [Bloomberg Billionaires Index](/source/Bloomberg_Billionaires_Index) - [Bourgeoisie](/source/Bourgeoisie) - [Business oligarch](/source/Business_oligarch) - [Businessperson](/source/Businessperson) - [Chaebol](/source/Chaebol) - [Media proprietor](/source/Media_proprietor) - [Real estate investing](/source/Real_estate_investing) - [Robber baron](/source/Robber_baron_(industrialist)) - [Software industry](/source/Software_industry) - *[The World's Billionaires](/source/The_World's_Billionaires)* - [Russian oligarchs](/source/Russian_oligarchs), the term for Russian business magnates ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Cummings, Donald Wayne (1988). [*American English Spelling: An Informal Description*](https://books.google.com/books?id=1OVIqCV57pYC). JHU Press. p. 277. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8018-3443-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8018-3443-1). Retrieved 22 May 2012. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["tycoon"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tycoon). *Merriam-Webster*. Retrieved 22 May 2012. Origin of TYCOON Japanese taikun 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["tycoon"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tycoon). *Merriam-Webster*. Retrieved 22 May 2012. First Known Use: 1857 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Goodheart, Adam (10 November 2010). ["Return of the Samurai"](https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/return-of-the-samurai/). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 22 May 2012. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Business magnate](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Business_magnate). Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Business magnate](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Business_magnate)***. - Lewis, Mark (December 13, 2001). ["The Famous 15: America's Most Fascinating Tycoons"](https://www.forbes.com/2001/12/13/1213top15.html). *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)*. - ["25 Tycoons Who Run the World"](http://www.businesspundit.com/25-tycoons-who-run-the-world/). Business Pundit. October 6, 2010. - ["Finlayson juhlii klassikkokuosien merkeissä"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100123213556/http://www.mtv3.fi/koti/ajankohtaista.shtml?1035944). *MTV3.fi - Koti* (in Finnish). Bonnier AB. January 18, 2010. Archived from [the original](http://www.mtv3.fi/koti/ajankohtaista.shtml?1035944) on 2010-01-23. v t e Social class Status Stratum Economic classes Theories Elite theory Gilbert model Marxian Mudsill theory New class Social privilege Weberian (three-component) Related topics Caste Chattering classes Class conflict Class discrimination Class society Class traitor Classicide Classless society Euthenics High society Nouveau riche / Parvenu Poverty Ranked society Snobbery Social cleansing Social exclusion Social mobility Social orphan Social position Social stigma Subaltern Status Anxiety By demographic By status Administrative detainee Alien illegal immigrant refugee Citizen dual or multiple native-born naturalized second-class Clique adolescent Convicted Migrant worker Political prisoner Socioeconomic Stateless By "collar" Blue Green Grey New Pink White By type Ruling Aristocracy Aristoi Hanseaten Magnate Oligarchy Russian Patrician Ancient Rome Post-Roman Political Family List Hereditary Royal family Intellectual Clergy Priest Knowledge worker Professor Scholar Warrior Chhetri Cossacks Cuāuh Harii Hashashin Knight Kshatriya Ocēlōtl Pendekar Rajanya Jati ("Rāijadāh") Samurai Spartiate Vanniyar/Vanniar (Chieftain) Upper Business magnate Elite Gabellotto Gentry Lord Nobility Landed Petty Old money Overclass Robber baron Seigneur Superclass Creative Bohemians Middle Bourgeoisie Petite Burgher Lower middle class Upper middle class Working Commoner Lazzaroni Lumpenproletariat Pea-pickers Peasant Precariat Proletariat Working poor Under Ant tribe Outcast Outlaw / Prisoner Serf Plebeian Rat tribe Slave Freedman Untouchable By country or region United States Affluence American Dream History Mobility Classes Upper Black Donor Gentry Middle Black Mexican-American Upper Middle Lower Income Household Inequality Personal Poverty Standard of living Education Homelessness Home-ownership Other regions or countries Africa Belize Cambodia China Colombia France Haiti India Iran Italy Luxembourg Nepal New Zealand Nigeria Romania Sri Lanka Tibet United Kingdom United States Historic 18th-century Spain Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Aztec Ottoman Empire Pre-industrial East Asia Pre-industrial Europe Soviet Union Category v t e High wealth Concepts Capital accumulation Overaccumulation Economic inequality Wealth distribution Income distribution Yard-sale model Consumption distribution History of economic inequality Brazil China Denmark Germany India Latin America Philippines South Africa South Korea Sweden United States income inequality wealth inequality International inequality Elite Oligarchy Overclass Plutocracy Plutonomy Broligarchy Primitive accumulation of capital Upper class Nouveau riche (new money) Vieux riche (old money) Luxury goods Veblen goods Conspicuous consumption Conspicuous leisure Luxury beliefs People Trillionaire Billionaire Centibillionaire Millionaire Captain of industry High-net-worth individual Magnate Business Oligarch Business Russian Ukrainian Robber baron Wealth Concentration Distribution Effect Geography Inheritance Dynastic Estate planning Management National Paper Religion Tax Lists People Forbes list of billionaires List of centibillionaires Female billionaires Richest royals Wealthiest Americans Wealthiest families Organizations Largest companies by revenue Largest corporate profits and losses Largest corporations by market capitalization Largest financial services companies by revenue Largest manufacturing companies by revenue European Largest software companies by revenue Largest technology companies by revenue Religious organizations Charities Philanthropists Universities Endowment size Number of billionaire alumni Other Cities by number of billionaires Countries by number of billionaires Countries by total wealth Countries by wealth inequality Most expensive items by category Related Diseases of affluence Affluenza Acquired situational narcissism Argumentum ad crumenam Prosperity theology Philanthropy Gospel of Wealth The Giving Pledge Philanthrocapitalism Venture philanthropy Sayings The rich get richer and the poor get poorer Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor Too big to fail Media Das Kapital Plutus Greek god of wealth Superclass List The Theory of the Leisure Class Wealth The Wealth of Nations Category by country Authority control databases National United States Israel Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Business magnate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_magnate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_magnate?action=history)). 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